Karst lake is a unique creation of nature

The nature of our planet is unique. It is interesting that there is nothing on the Earth stationary, everything changes. We are used to the fact that the main changes in the surrounding nature depend on the person. However, amazing metamorphoses are associated with karst lakes. About this, what is karst lakes, this article will tell.

What it is?

Karst is a layer of earth consisting of soft rocks, which because of their properties a person uses in construction, i.e. limestone, gypsum, surfaces of sulfate origin, etc. Underground waters, with flowability, wash away such layers, and As a result, dips are formed, which are filled with water. Most often it is fresh. However, if the strata consist of rock salt, then the salt water, saturated with the minerals dissolved in it , can turn out. This is how the karst lake is formed. It can occur both on the surface and underground, in caves, which also appear due to the formation of voids in the rock layer . Such caves are also called karst.

Features of origin

Karst lake is a pit filled with underground waters. It is formed as a result of the failure of a layer of earth consisting of soft calcareous rocks. The water in these reservoirs is transparent, because there is no sand at the bottom, but only light limestone, mineralized and purified from harmful biological impurities. Therefore, it can be called "alive". Such a body of water does not warm up to the temperature of bathing due to the large number of springs that deliver groundwater to the surface. There are few zhivnosti in such lakes, but fish are found. How she gets there and what she eats is a mystery! Unlike ordinary, karst lake can boast water, which even off the coast is free of duckweed and reed vegetation.

Wandering Lakes

Karst lake can be short-lived, because underground waters, eroding limestone layers, can change direction or go deeper. Then they disappear, and only legends connected with them remain. Wandering lakes are in different parts of our country. In the Arkhangelsk region there is a reservoir of Semgo, which several times left into the ground. Once in a few years the high-altitude natural reservoir in Dagestan Rakdal-hol appears, and then disappears. In the Vytegorsk district in the Vologda region for three days, Kushtozero disappeared. Shimozero, located not far from Onega, surprises the inhabitants of the surrounding settlements not only by the fact that in the beginning of summer it is filled with water, but also by the fact that by the autumn its contents go underground. In this lake there is a round basin that looks like a funnel, because the water in it rotates. This place was called by the locals Black Pit.

Thermokarst and technogenic karst lakes

The emergence of karst lakes is also associated with a change in the temperature regime in various localities. With the increase in the average annual air temperature, the ice sheet begins to melt in the permafrost regions, voids are formed, the surface of which fails and is filled with thawed water. So thermokarst lakes are formed. In addition to this type of reservoir, there are still technogenic-karst formations. Most often they are formed in the places of development by the man of rocks, which served him as building material. The galleries and stone-stones are abandoned, but the emptiness created new karst caves and lakes. So, apparently, this time it was not without human intervention.

Karst lakes of the Samara Region

Examples of karst lakes can be found in various areas of our country, although these objects are still poorly understood. They are engaged in studying mainly local divers. The pearl of the Samara land - the Zhiguli mountains, consisting mainly of calcareous rocks - contains a large number of karst caves and lakes.

One of them is called Blue Lake. It is located in the Sergievsky district of the Samara region near the village of Staroye Yakushkino. It has a round funnel and intensely blue color, for which it received its name, is supplied with water from hydrogen sulfide sources. There is a belief that if a person swims to its center, it can be tightened by giant bubbles rising from the bottom. There was a lake, according to preliminary data, 250 years ago. And the dead are called because of the complete absence of life in it. Also interesting is the water object White Well, which is located near the village of Shiryaevo in the upper reaches of the Shiryaevsky ravine. The name of the well can indicate the bottomless depth of the lake or for a special freshness, transparency, good water quality. This reservoir is a natural object of the national park "Samarskaya Luka". Another lake of the "Samara Luke" was named for the event, which old residents of the village of Askuli remember. 30-40 years ago, the level of a karst lake in the upper reaches of the Ascul ravine to the north-east of the village suddenly rose, water from it poured into the ravine. Hence the name "Flood".

Thus, the karst lake is a unique little-known natural phenomenon that contains many mysteries and secrets.